Unexpected Temptations
by Lola-2011
Summary: What's an innocent dinner between exes?
1. Chapter 1

_Unexpected Temptations_

_Chapter:1_

_Pairing: Reba/Brock_

_Rating: PG-13_

_Time line: Season 4ish_

_Reba was having the absolute best day. It was quiet and calm and she had the entire house to herself for the evening. Friday evening, but still quietness was so nice. She had intended to relax so she picked out a movie, ordered a pizza, and was on her way upstairs to change clothes. As soon as she made it to the top of the stairs she heard the front door open and then close._

"_Reba?" Brock called out. "You home?"_

"_You don't have to yell." she said, coming down the stairs. "What do you want?"_

"_I just wanted to come by and see what you were doing this evening."_

"_Nothing." she replied. "I'm going to spend the evening alone."_

"_Well that doesn't sound like very much fun." he said. "I'm alone for the evening too."_

"_And?"_

"_I thought maybe you and I could have dinner or something."_

_Reba exhaled noisily. "Thank you but no, Brock." she told him. "I really want to spend the evening alone."_

"_Come on, Reba" he was almost pleading. "When's the last time you and I had a meal together?"_

"_Not long enough."_

"_We can go wherever you want to go." he promised her. "It's on me." _

_She was silence for several long moments. She was scrambling to come up with something, with anything to get her out of this. And then suddenly it hit her. "I can't." she smiled triumphantly. "I've already ordered pizza. It'll be here any minute."_

"_You can eat that tomorrow." he said. "It'll be fun, I promise."_

"_Brock..."_

"_I'm not taking no for an answer." he said. "You and I are going to go out and have fun tonight. I'll be back to pick you up in twenty minutes."_

"_Brock." she called out after him. "I really don't want to go."_

"_Wear something nice." and like that he was out the door._

_Reba stood defeated. And then she shook it off. She would just have to make the best of it she supposed. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad after all. _

_tbc...?_


	2. Chapter 2

Unexpected Temptations

Chapter: 2

Pairing: Reba/Brock

Rating: PG

The lights in the restaurant were dim, dimmer than Reba would have preferred. It had a glowing, romantic type of atmosphere. The kind that an ex-husband and ex-wife shouldn't be surrounded by. A place where old feelings could be stirred up with as little as a touch. Like his hand pressing on the small of her back as they made their way to the table.

He pulled the chair out for her, his fingertips accidently brushing against her bare arm and lingering for several moments of awkward comfortableness. Reba looked up at him, blue eyes staring into his, silently telling him to stop.

"Sorry." he mumbled, moving to sit down from across from her. "I didn't mean to."

"Yeah, well." she sighed. "I've heard that one before."

"Try to lighten up, Reba."

"I'm lightened up enough thank you very much." she replied. "I just wish this place was lighted better. It's awfully dark in here."

"It's not dark." he argued. "And this restaurant has a waiting list a mile long. I thought that you would like it. You always complained I never took you out to nice places and now I am."

"Yeah, when we were married." she pointed out. "You and I are divorced incase you've forgotten."

"I haven't forgotten." he replied. "You wouldn't let me. Besides you agreed to come have dinner with me, remember?"

"You twisted my arm." she said. "You wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Why can't you just relax?" he asked. "I just thought that we could have a nice, quiet, relaxing evening together. A little dinner and then maybe some ice cream afterwards. I promise to get you home before you turn into a pumpkin."

"Okay." she breathed out. "I'm relaxing. Satisfied?"

"I'm getting there." he replied, picking up the wine list. "Red or white?"

"Whatever's the most expensive."

Brock looked up from the wine list. "That would be the champagne."

"Let's have that, then." she smiled. "After all it is your treat."

"Champagne it is."

"That's it?" Reba asked. "No argument?"

"No." he said, laying the list down. "I want us to have a good time."

She arched her eyebrow. "How good of a time?"

The table that they were sitting at was rather small and Brock found himself leaning across it to get even closer to her. "I thought you were going to relax?"

All of his charm wasn't lost on her. "I am." she smiled. "I promise."

Brock reached across the table and covered her hand with his. "Good."

Her breath caught in her throat. She had never imagined that she would find herself reacting this way to him, to his touch. It was wrong. She knew it was wrong but she couldn't help it. She was absolutely positively intrigued by him.


	3. Chapter 3

Unexpected Temptations

Chapter: 3

Pairing: Reba/Brock

Rating: PG

Never in a million years would Reba have thought that she would be having such a great evening with her ex-husband. They laughed and talked over dinner, their conversations light and easy. They didn't discuss their children or their divorce or Barbra Jean.

They were genuinely happy and at a level of peace that they never imagined possible. It seemed as though they had fallen back into old times. Times before all the fighting and arguing. It was almost like they were building back the relationship that they were suppose to have.

Brock took another sip of champagne. "I've had a really good time tonight." he said, cautiously. "I am allowed to say that, right?"

"Yes." she half-laughed. "Truth is I've had a pretty good time too."

"Maybe we should do this more often then."

Reba finished off her champagne. "Perhaps." she was a little hesitant, she didn't want to say too much. "It's getting late I think we should head home."

Home. A word that snapped Brock out of his fairytale surrounding. Home. A place that he shared with Barbra Jean. A place where Reba went to bed alone. Something about that just didn't seem right to him. It didn't seem fair and he knew that it was mostly his fault. He would give absolutely anything in the world to be going home with her.

"Yeah." he breathed out. "We probably should."

Everything went silent for several long moments. It felt like an eternity though. They just sat there looking at each other wondering what the other was thinking. Struggling to read each others mind and failing so miserably. Reba reached for her purse laying on the table but Brock grabbed her hand.

It was the second time that he had reached for her hand since they had arrived at the restaurant. His hands were warm and his touch firm. "Not yet." he said, softly. "I'm having such a great time."

"I think you've had too much champagne." she never attempted to move her hand out of his grasp. Instead she reveled in the sensual feelings that he was stirring up inside of her rather knowingly or unknowingly. "I've had too much champagne." she said, softly. "I think we should call it a night."

"Not without dessert." he said. "The night wouldn't be complete without dessert."

Her eyebrow arched. "Dessert?"

Brock picked up the dessert menu that the waiter had left on the table. "We could get it to go if you'd like."

"I think that's a bad idea, Brock." she said, sliding her hand away from his. "I think that's a really bad idea."

"Cheesecake is never a bad idea." he smiled. "And I thought you were going to relax and have some fun? Here you are tensing up again."

"That's exactly the problem, Brock." she admitted. "I am having a good time. Too much of a good time."

"That's impossible!"

Reba looked away from him. "I'm having the kind of good time that I shouldn't be having with someone else's husband." she said, finding the strength to look him in the eye. "And I'm scared of where all of this might lead."

tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

Unexpected Temptations

Chapter: 4

Pairing: Reba/Brock

Rating: PG

Brock had spent ten minutes explaining to Reba that the only thing he wanted from her was friendship. He wanted them to build the kind of relationship where they were completely comfortable with each other. He wanted support and comfort and someone to tell him when he was out of line. A marriage without all the baggage.

And after seeing his point of view Reba agreed that that's what she wanted too. What she didn't want was long pauses of awkwardness and uncomfortableness because they were falling into old, familiar patterns with each other. She wanted something new, not something salvaged from a broken marriage.

He proceeded to order dessert telling her that they could share. Because that's what friends did, they shared things with one another. Chocolate cheesecake that was smooth and silky with just the right amount of creaminess. His fork glided through the dessert, using a bit more force to get through the crust.

"When do you expect the kids back?"

"Not until tomorrow evening." she said, taking a bite of cheesecake. "I love our children but I really enjoy time alone too. It's so quiet and relaxing."

"Maybe you should take a little me time more often." he suggested. "You might be a little more happier."

"Happier?" she arched an eyebrow. "You don't think I'm happy?"

Brock took another bite of cheesecake. "I've seen you happier." he said. "And sadder."

"Yeah, well I'm working on it." she told him honestly. "I've come to terms with a lot of things in the past that I was unwilling to face. I realize that it takes two to make a marriage and that it takes two to break a marriage."

He was silent for several long seconds. "I did the most damage."

Reba nodded. "I'll agree with that." she said. "But look how far we've come. We're at a better place now than we were the past three years of our marriage."

"Yeah." he sighed, lifting his fork for another bite. "I just can't help wondering what if sometimes."

"What if's don't get you anywhere, Brock." she said, softly. "They sure as heck didn't get me anywhere. Sometimes you just have to let go and move on with your life."

"I know." he replied. "And I am moving on with my life, Reba, I really am."

"So you're going to work things out with Barbra Jean?"

"No." he answered. "Barbra Jean and I have tried and that's all we can do is try. It's not working out. I want a divorce."

Reba was completely still for what felt like an eternity. "That's why Barbra Jean went to visit her family."

"Yeah."

Reba took the napkin off her lap and placed in on the table. "I see where this is going." she told him. "And I don't think I like it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not about to be your rebound."

tbc...


	5. Chapter 5

Unexpected Temptations

Chapter: 5

Pairing: Reba/Brock

Rating: PG

After Brock's confession Reba had left the restaurant and walked the four blocks back home. She had never been more confused in her entire life. A nice quiet evening alone had turned into...a date...was that the word...with her ex-husband. She honestly didn't know what had happened. They were having a good time, talking and laughing and all of the sudden he's telling her that his marriage is over.

Reba's head was spinning but there was one thing she was sure of and that was that she was not about to be Brock's rebound. Jumping from her to Barbra Jean and then back to her again was insane! And she doesn't even know why she's thinking about being a rebound. She and Brock were over and had been for quite sometime. They weren't even an option but she couldn't seem to get him out of her head and she didn't understand why.

She closed the door behind her and made her way over to the sofa, turning on the lamp before she sat down. She threw her purse on to the coffee table and slipped her shoes off. And the more she sat there the guiltier she felt. She had pulled the dress from the back of her closet, the one with the tags still on it, and wore it to dinner with Brock. She had put on earrings and a necklace. And incredibly too much thought into something supposedly innocent.

Did she want him? Was that was this was about? She wanted her ex-husband? That couldn't be right because it was so wrong. Wrong on many, many different levels. She didn't want to be the other woman. She couldn't be the other woman. And she had no idea why her mind was jumping to all these scenarios. It was dinner and dessert, a dessert that she left in the middle of.

There was a soft knock at the front door. And she didn't have to get up to answer it, she knew who it was. And he knew that she would be waiting for him. Brock gently pushed the front door open to find her sitting on the sofa in dim lamp night. A vision in black, not knowing how perfectly the light illuminated her face and the red of her hair.

"I'm sorry." he said, closing the door. "We were having a nice time and I had no right to dump all of that on you like that. It was selfish of me and I'm really sorry, Reba."

"Are you?" she asked, watching him as he walked toward her. "What do you want from me, Brock? Why all of this? And why now?"

He sat down on the sofa beside her. "I don't know." he admitted, honestly. "I thought that this was an innocent gesture. I thought it would be nice for the two of us to just go out and have dinner together. I had no idea that it would open up so many..."

"Please, Brock, don't say it." she told him. "You and I are in a different place now. You're married to Barbra Jean and that's the relationship you need to worry about rebuilding, not ours. We're in a really good place, if you take out tonight, and that's the way I want it to stay."

"Barbra Jean and I have tried, we really have." he replied. "It's not working out."

"And I don't want you to come running back to me because it's the safe thing to do." she said. "I don't want to be the second choice or the safe choice. I want to come first, I want someone to be passionately in love with me. I don't want to be your rebound."

"Then give me a chance." he said. "Let me prove it to you. Let me prove to how much I still love and want you. Please, Reba."

Her eyes searched his. She wanted to believe what he was saying she really did. But then on the other hand she couldn't. She didn't want to be _that_ person, the other woman and she knew that's exactly what she would end up being.

"I think you should leave, Brock."

"No." he said, looking into her eyes. "I'm not going to walk out on you. Not again."

tbc...


	6. Chapter 6

Unexpected Temptations

Chapter: 6

Pairing: Brock & Reba

Rating: PG

"No." he said, looking her in the eyes. "I'm not going to walk out on you. Not again."

"You wouldn't be walking out on me." Reba told him. "There's nothing here for you to be walking out on, Brock."

"Were you not listening to anything I said?" he asked. "I want this." he said, motioning between the two of them. "I thought you wanted it too."

"Brock." she exhaled. "I don't even know what _this_ is. You invited me to dinner and now all of the sudden you want more. You want..."

"You." he said, softly. "I want you. I've always wanted you."

"That's not true." she told him. "You and I both know that."

"I thought I was doing the right thing." he confessed. "I thought that for once in my life I was taking responsibility and doing the right thing by marrying Barbra Jean. I messed up by cheating and I messed up again by trying to build a marriage on what was only a fling."

"You can't do this to me, Brock!" she almost yelled, getting up off the sofa. "You can't put me in an impossible situation like this. I'm just starting to feel like myself again. I don't want to be hurt all over again. Please try and understand."

"I know that I hurt you." he told her. "And I know that I can never go back and fix my mistakes. I'm just asking you to give me another chance. I promise that I'll never do anything to hurt you ever again."

She took a few steps back away from him. "It's not that simple."

"It could be."

"No." she disagreed. "I lost my faith in you, Brock. I lost my trust and my hope and most importantly my heart."

"I could say I'm sorry a million times and it would never be good enough." he told her. "I know that. I'm not trying to change the past, I'm just trying to get back to that place in my life where I was happiest."

Reba was absolutely speechless. He had just said everything that she had been longing to hear. The apology that could have saved their marriage. Only it was four years too late and he was someone else's husband. "Why are you doing this to me, Brock?" she asked, turning her back to him. "Why couldn't you have said all those things years ago?"

"Would it made a difference if I had?" he asked, walking up behind her. "Would you have forgiven me." his hands slid over her shoulders. "Would you have given us another chance."

Everything within her was melting. All the walls she had put up around her heart. All the things that she had been holding back. She wanted to be honest with him. She had to be. Or she would never forgive herself. "Yes." she whispered ever so faintly. "It would have." she said as she turned around to face him. "I would have."

Brock took a step closer to her. "You mean it?" he asked. "You forgive me?"

"Yes." she smiled fleetingly. "I forgive you."

His hands gently cupped her face. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I think I have a pretty good idea."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." she breathed out, inching closer to him.

Brock's hands on her face drew her closer to him but it was Reba that leaned forward brushing her lips against his. Softly, gently, and ever so gracefully her lips met his again and again for sweet, seductive kisses. The space between them seemed to evaporate. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her into him.

He felt her pull back from him. "You okay?" he asked, still holding her. "Reba?"

tbc...


	7. Chapter 7

Unexpected Temptations

Chapter: 7

Pairing: Reba & Brock

Rating: PG

"Are you okay?"

Reba pulled back, her hands pushing hard against his arms to separate their embrace. She was literally holding him at arms length. "Brock." she breathed out. "This feels..."

"Please don't say it." he was pleading with her.

"No." she smiled. "What I was going to say was this feels right." she told him. "I mean I know that it's wrong but it just feels so right. And that scares me."

"Why?"

"It's an impossible situation." she said, softly. "People are going to get hurt."

"People always get hurt, Reba." he told her. "Rather we mean for them to or not."

"It's more than that, Brock." she said, separating herself from him completely. "I've been on the other side of this and I wouldn't put anyone through that. Not even the woman who hurt me."

"This is different."

"Is it?" she asked. "Because right now I'll cling to anything that might make sense."

Brock pulled her back into his arms. "If you wanted this, if you really wanted this, then nothing would stand in your way."

"I do want this." she said, relaxing into his arms. "More than you know." her eyes welled up with tears. "This is the first time in a really long time that I've felt this good."

"Then let's not end this." he said. "Especially when nothing has even happened yet. We can take this nice and slow."

"Nice and slow." she repeated, inching closer to him. Her lips softly collided with his as he wrapped his arms around her. They kissed tenderly for what felt like forever. Long, slow, deep passionate kissing that set every inch of their bodies aflame. Lips caressed and tongues glided together effortlessly. Perfectly.

Reba pulled away from him again but this time for lack of oxygen. "I want this." she told him. "I want you." she hesitated. "But everything seems to be moving so fast. I think I need a little time to breath."

"I understand." he said. "Are you sure we can't just skip all this middle stuff though and get right down to the good stuff."

Color swept into her cheeks. "I think I need a few more evenings like tonight first."

"I see." he smiled. "You wanted to be courted." he said. "I can do that. We can go to dinner and take long walks, maybe go dancing."

"Now this is the Brock that I remember." she told him. "This is the man that I fell in love with. Kind and gentle and romantic."

"This time around is going to be even better than you remember." he promised her. "You should go upstairs and get to bed because we're heading out bright and early tomorrow."

She arched an eyebrow. "Tomorrow?" she asked. "What's tomorrow?"

"A surprise." he smiled. "One that you'll love."

tbc...


	8. Chapter 8

Unexpected Temptations

Chapter: 8

Brock had arranged everything perfectly. He had packed a picnic lunch, complete with a blanket for them to sit on. And a bottle of expensive champagne. It was just like they were dating again. And it seemed as though dating could be a real possibility.

He unloaded the fishing equipment from off the back of the old beat up pickup. "Do you know how long it's been since I've been fishing?"

Reba arched a defined eyebrow. "Did you really bring me down here just to fish?"

His smile was worth a million dollars. "Would you be disappointed if I said yes?"

"I don't know." she shrugged. "Maybe a little."

"That's good to know." he said. "I'll remember that for later on."

"Later on?" she asked. "Just how long is this fishing trip going to last anyway?"

Brock made his way to the river bank. "I didn't know you had a curfew." he teased. "Are you going to turn into a pumpkin or something?"

Reba followed closely behind him. "You never know, I just might."

He sat down in the grass with the two fishing poles and his tackle box. "I seem to remember you being a little more adventurous. Maybe we need to do something about that."

"Maybe." she sat down beside him.

He opened the tackle box. "Here." he handed her a lure. "It's my lucky one."

She took it from his hand. "I can't believe you still have this old thing. It should be dry rotted by now."

"It still gets me the biggest fish." he told her. "Ever since you gave it to me when we started dating."

Reba smiled. "We have to find something else for you to be sentimental about." she baited her hook.

Brock fastened his lure. "I thought that's what we were working on?" he cast his line out into the river. "Finding our way back to each other?"

"Are you really sure you want to do this, Brock?" she asked. "Sometimes things are different in the morning light."

"I'm sure." he said. "I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life. Tell me you feel the same way."

She nodded. "Oh, I don't know." she said. "I think you might be worth a second chance."

Brock smiled, brightly. "I knew you would see it my way."

"I'm sure you did." she felt a bite on her line and started reeling it in. "I guess you were right. This thing is lucky."

"Don't be so sure of yourself." he teased. "It could be just a boot or something."

"Jealous I'm getting the first fish of the day?" she continued to reel her line in. "And we haven't been out here more than five minutes."

"I told you it was the bait."

There was a medium size fish on her hook. "I need you to take it off." she told him.

"Still afraid of touching fish after all these years?"

"They're slimy!"

Brock laid his fishing pole down and reached for hers. "So keep them and eat them and or toss them back?"

"Toss them back." she decided. "Unless we get a really big one."

He tossed the fish back into the water and then picked up his fishing pole. "Would you like to try it without my lucky bait?"

"No thanks." Reba cast her line back out into the water. "I've forgotten how relaxing this is."

"It's nice, isn't it?" he said. "It's like we don't have a care in the world."

She smiled. "Yeah." she said. "Who would have thought we'd be sitting here together like this a week ago."

"Well I had hoped, but I couldn't quite convince myself it would ever be true." he told her. "I guess that means we do have a shot at this. A real shot."

"I think so." she agreed. "I'm certainly willing to give it a try."

"You have no idea how happy you've made me."

"Oh, yeah?" she countered. "I guess you'll just have to show me."

tbc...

Please review! Thanks!


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